Describe a historical period that you are interested in

Band 8 Sample

If I could go in a time machine, I would choose to go back to the glorious time of Hong Bang period in about 2000 BC, the very first days of my country.

At that time, this place wasn’t called Vietnam, it was under the rule of Hung Kings and was named Van Lang instead. What I find fascinating about this era is the legends and myths which I learned from History and Literature class back in school. Van Lang was a small country yet it was frequently invaded by the mysterious people. Whenever this period of time is mentioned, people will immediately relate to hundreds of wars, some even last for decades. We, the descendants, had no idea how they could win in those wars due to the sparse population and simple weapons, so we made up stories and fables to honor the bravery of our ancestors. Some specific examples are the legend of a three-year-old boy who went to war to save the country, or the myth of the Magic Crossbow which could deliver thousands of arrows and the story of the princess innocently trusting her lover and betraying her father, and the list goes on.

Although some of the stories are imaginary, it left a mark on me and nurtured my love for my home country since I was a little girl. Moreover, many of modern Vietnamese cultural practices also date back to this era, like cooking sticky rice cakes and displaying five-fruit trays on Tet holiday. This era can be considered as the cradle of our culture. I am always curious about the origin of our customs, and I believe that going back to this time could provide me with first-hand experience as well as a thorough understanding of my country’s tradition.